Battery failure in vehicles occurs for a number of reasons, but the greatest definable contributor to vehicle battery failure is extremely high or low temperatures. In particular, heat is the greatest contributor to battery failure. Typically, the vehicle battery is positioned in the vehicle engine compartment and consequently, is subjected to the significant heat produced by the engine. Consequences of heat on vehicle batteries include increased gassing and corrosion. Extremely low temperatures also contribute to battery failure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,190 entitled Arrangement for Cooling the Battery of a Motor Vehicle describes a battery cooling mechanism in which the battery is enclosed in a chamber and air from outside of the engine compartment is drawn through a tube into the chamber and expelled via an outlet tube. Flow of air through the chamber may also be reversed when the vehicle is stationary.
While such a system dissipates heat from the battery, it does not provide for protection from low temperatures. In addition, the chamber for the battery requires additional space in the engine compartment, which is becoming increasingly scarce in modern vehicles.
Accordingly, there is a need for an arrangement which protects a battery from extremes in temperature, while also utilizing a minimum of extra space in the engine compartment.